Patricia Johns

The next morning, Amelia came into the kitchen to discover that Ronnie the rooster had come to visit.

This was a problem. Rosie did not like sharing her food–or her duck, for that matter. And Ronnie seemed interested in both.

“No, Ronnie!” Amelia said. “Don’t touch that! I said NO!”

Ronnie blinked up at her and took another peck at Rosie’s food bowl. In response Rosie growled.

“And there will be no growling out you, Miss!” Amelia said sternly. “I can always get you more food.”

But Rosie seemed more offended by the rudeness of it, and Ronnie wasn’t listening at all.

Just then, Brigette came paddling into the room in her little walker, and when she spotted the rooster, her eyes lit up and her little feet started to paddle the floor at top speed. She came whipping toward the rooster, her hands stretched out to grab him, and Ronnie’s eyes went wide, he let out a squawk, and he managed to flutter up out of Brigette’s reach with no time to spare!

And they were off! Ronnie was squawking and flapping, and Brigette was squealing with delight paddling after him as fast as her little walker would take her.

Rosie went over to her food dish and sniffed it, just to make sure it was okay.

Amelia went dashing after both the rooster and her froglet, and when she finally caught Brigette, she was breathless.

“That silly old rooster!” Amelia said. “I might need to have a chat with his wife about keeping him at home! My goodness!”

Ronnie fluttered to a stop at the top of the stairs looked bedraggled and google-eyed. George came stomping back into the house, and he took in his delighted daughter, his exasperated wife and the traumatized rooster.

“Amelia, weren’t you going to see Mary next door?” George asked.

“I was, but then Ronnie got in,” she said, tears welled in her eyes.

“Never mind that,” George said. “Mary is expecting you, and I can take care of things.

Amelia was so grateful that she dragged Brigette over to George, planted a kiss on his cheek, grabbed her scarf and the book she meant to bring to Mary, and plunged outside.

Sometimes a woman needed some tea that someone else had steeped, in the kitchen of a good friend.

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Amelia knocked on Mary Lapp’s door, and from inside she could hear the bark of a dog, but other than that, all sounded quiet and serene. Mary opened the door with a smile. Her kitchen was neat and orderly, and her dress was clean and ironed.

“Amelia!” Mary said with a broad smile. “I’m so happy you came by. Oh, and I see you brought the book you said I could borrow.”

Mary got Amelia settled at the kitchen table with a hot cup of tea and a muffin, and Amelia felt her blood pressure start to come down.

“How do you do it, Mary?” Amelia asked. “I left behind a rooster in the house, my baby chasing the rooster down, and my husband who was going to have to take care of it. It was chaos!”

“Oh, that’s because my kids are in school,” Mary said. “The mayhem will come when they get home.”

“Really?” Amelia asked. “That’s it? You look so calm and collected!”

“Like I said… they’re in school.” Mary winked, and Amelia laughed. “I’m glad you came over. Now tell me about that book with the body in the well.”

So Amelia told her all about GRAVE AMISH SECRETS by Patricia Johns, being careful not to give too much away, and Mary’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Do you really read books about murders and cold cases?” Amelia asked.

“Well… not just any book about murder and cold cases,” Mary said. “I like books that have faith in them and that show people learning about God in the midst of all that craziness. And the ones that show the Amish world realistically, with actual people doing their best to live a good life–I like those.”

“I never would have guessed!” Amelia said.

“I’m full of surprises!” Mary replied. “Have another muffin.”

And Amelia enjoyed her time with the friend, drinking tea that tasted better somehow because Mary had steeped it, and chatting about books and kids and farm animals and even a little bit of community gossip… Word around town was that their young and single school teacher had attracted the attention of more than one local bachelor!

“You’re going to have to keep me updated about your school teacher,” Amelia said. “There’s nothing I love more than a little bit of romance.”

---

Amelia was gone for longer than she thought she would be. She and Mary had such a good visit, and she felt so much better for having had a good chat with a friend.

When she got back into the house, all was quiet. There were still dishes the in sink, and Rosie’s food had spilled on the kitchen floor. There was a trail of Cheerios down the hallway that were undoubtedly from Brigette, but it was quiet, and that was a victory!

“George?” Amelia called.

“In the sitting room!” George called back.

There he was, sitting on the couch with Ronnie the rooster next to him. Ronnie looked snug and comfortable, and so did George, honestly.

“What happened?” Amelia asked.

“Well… Brigette tired herself out, and she’s down for a nap,” George said, “and I realized that I missed Ronnie. He was such a handful before, and then he was so busy with his little wife. I think I missed him being underfoot.”

“I think he missed you, too,” Amelia said.

“Don’t worry about the mess,” George said. “I’ll clean it up once Ronnie goes home to Lucy.”

But Amelia was feeling better now, and she hated staring at a mess waiting for someone else to clean it, so she got the broom and started with sweeping up the Cheerios.

“It’s okay,” Amelia said. “We have a guest coming tomorrow, so I’ll get to cleaning, and then I have some editing to do…”

Funny how a visit with a friend–be it Mary next door, or the rooster from the barn–could make everything feel better again.

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I hope you are enjoying these stories about the Froggy Amish B&B. My latest book, GRAVE AMISH SECRETS, is still on the shelves. I hope you’ll pick it up when you see it. Amelia loved it, and Mary is in for a treat with this cold case story!

Happy reading!

❤